


we never go out of style

by sunlitdaze



Category: Descendants (Disney Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fashion & Models, Multi, Mutual Pining, Yearning, idiots to lovers, wow so much of it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-25
Updated: 2021-02-20
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:33:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,982
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26648314
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunlitdaze/pseuds/sunlitdaze
Summary: model/photographer AU // Mal needs money for art school... fast. When she gets a gig as a photographer for the best fashion magazine in town, she wonders if she's cut out for the lifestyle. Enter Evie, the model on every billboard, every insta post you can think of. Will Mal's new world (and muse) be too much for her to handle or will she be able to stand the heat?
Relationships: Audrey Rose/Uma (Disney), Ben/Harry Hook, Evie/Mal (Disney), Jay/Carlos de Vil
Comments: 7
Kudos: 42





	1. i like the way you talk

The longer Mal stared at the building before her, the worse her nausea got. She was in a trance, immobilized by her racing thoughts as the crisp New York wind blowing so fiercely her eyes stung. She wanted to run back to her cozy dorm room with four plant babies and graffitied canvases. 

“Harry, I can’t do this,” Mal said, her knuckles white from gripping the bag in her hands. 

“Like hell ye can’t. If ye don’t, who’s gonna pay for ye tuition?” Harry shot back, smug smile on his face. 

She grimaced, shoving his arm. “Shut up!” 

He laughed at this, haughty as ever. Harry, her oldest friend and current next-door neighbor, had come up with all of this. When Mal had showed up at his door at one in the morning, her eyes swollen from crying, she’d broken down and told him she was almost out of tuition money and her last payment was late. Harry being Harry came back two days later with a photography gig at Auradon Magazine: the one stop place for the latest trends, most creative photoshoots, so on and so forth, or so they liked to pride themselves on. To say your stuff had been featured here was a one-way ticket straight to, well, the 

But Mal’s focus has never been fashion. It had always been art, particularly graffiti. When Harry came in with the proposition, her entire brain had glitched harder than a smartphone tossed into a pool. Brilliant idea, but photography? 

“Fake it ‘til ye make it, or whatever it is the kids say,” Harry had told her. He tapped the tip of her nose as he had done so, his infuriatingly annoying smirk on display. And there she was, armed with anxiety and the camera she had used for that one class two semesters ago. She took a deep breath. A second one. A third. 

“Mal, exhale, yer not fuckin’ breathin’” Harry shoved her in return, biting back a laugh. 

“Fine, fine! Let’s go,” she muttered and stomped into the building, eyes straight ahead. 

\---------

The world that enveloped her now smelled like someone carrying three different coffee orders, fresh cut flowers on somebody’s desk, and a distinct perfume Mal could only assume would eventually give her a migraine. She silently named colors she recognized on fabrics and photographs to center herself. Everyone around her was dressed to the nines despite it being a Tuesday in the middle of July; it suddenly made Mal, in all her purple haired, combat boot, ripped jeans glory, feel both out of place and like the exact missing piece of the puzzle. 

Mal stood in front of the editor’s daughter, Audrey, a tall girl with perfect pink hair cascading down her back, and a smile that felt like she knew more about you than you did. 

“Ah, you’re the one Harry told me about,” she said. “Photographer?” 

Mal nodded, hoping it looked more confident than she felt. 

“He sent me pictures you took, you’re decent. Think you might be good for our next few shoots,” Audrey explained. 

“Isn’t… Isn’t your mom the editor?” Mal asked. 

Audrey laughed. “I mean, yes. But I convinced her to give you a shot,” she let the unsaid but very much implied “you’re welcome” hang in the air between them. 

“Right. So, what did you have in mind for me?” Mal asked, fidgeting with her belt loop. 

“Fashion Week is in September and I thought you could work with our newer models, including Harry. He’ll introduce you. If what you give us is good, well, your stuff could be in the September issue,” Audrey explained. 

From the way Audrey said, “September issue,” Mal assumed it was a big deal. A big daunting deal that could be the difference between her staying in art school or having to go back home. She shuddered at the thought. 

“Sounds good to me! When do I start?” 

“The shoot is tomorrow. But a few of the models are here for fittings, if you want to meet them?” Audrey asked. 

Mal’s first instinct was to bolt, but when she opened her mouth, what came out was, “I’d love to.” 

\---------

The studio was larger than Mal imagined, her surroundings completely foreign from her usual cans of spray paint, and cardboard cutouts. Visions of more tall girls, more boys with sharp cheekbones, and hundreds of potential outfits on the racks with names written in swooped cursive hanging from them. 

Mal looked at the bag in her hand, silently hoping everything she was about to do was worth it. She was knocked out of her thoughts when Harry burst into the room with a blue-haired girl beside him. It took every ounce of strength she could muster to not stare and ogle at this girl, but resistance was pointless. 

She had big brown eyes and a smile that could put all the models on every billboard in the city to shame. Her long hair was slicked back into a ponytail, and she wore blue like someone had invented the color simply just for her to wear it. 

“Mal! Mal!” Harry’s voice cut through her trance. “This is Evie, the model for the shoot you’ll be doing tomorrow.” 

Evie. For the rest of the day, all her thoughts would be of Evie. 

“You’re the famous Mal!” Evie said in the softest voice that had ever fallen on Mal’s ears. “Harry here talks a lot about you. He tells me you’re an artist?” 

Mal laughs, nervously, and it comes out as a croak. “Artist is an overstatement.” 

“Never pegged ye for the modest type,” Harry teased. The glances he sent between the two girls went unnoticed. 

“Well! I mean, never be too cocky unless you’re Harry, right?” 

Evie laughed and Mal wanted to hear that sound forever. “Have you ever seen him in model mode? The levels of cocky are—” 

“Astronomical,” Mal finished. Evie’s eyes bore into hers, silently astonished that she knew what she’d say. 

“Right! Yes!” she agreed. 

“I knew ye’d get along, yer both always out to get me. Lovely, isn’t it?” Harry scoffed. 

“We’ll bond over roasting you,” Mal said. 

“As I suspected,” Evie joked. 

They laughed until it faded, falling into a comfortable silence. Mal and Evie’s looks lingered and neither of them noticed Harry had gone. 

\----------

The two of them left the studio, rode the elevator, and walked back out into the city together. It was the first time Mal stopped to consider that they weren’t going in the same direction; it felt like they should’ve. 

“So, tomorrow?” Evie asked. 

“Tomorrow?” 

“Yeah, the photoshoot.” 

“Oh! Right! Sorry, my brain’s somewhere else,” Mal explained, shoving her hands in her pockets. 

“You can tell me where that ‘somewhere’ is tomorrow morning,” Evie winked. “It was so nice meeting you, Mal.” 

At this point, her heartbeat was ringing in her ears and she thanked every force in the universe for making New York far too loud for Evie to notice. 

“You too,” Mal said, barely above a whisper, as she waved at Evie. She watched her walk away and sighed. Maybe this gig was a good idea, after all.


	2. don't you call him 'baby'

The following morning, Mal walked into the now fully decorated studio. There’s a huge black and white checkerboard backdrop against a wall and—

“Motorcycles?” Mal wonders out loud.

“Oh yeah! You ever ridden one?” Evie’s voice comes from somewhere behind Mal. She turns sharply to face the model.

Evie is in a full head-to-toe 1980s look; acid wash jeans, white bodysuit, black leather jacket, aviator sunglasses, extravagant (and heavily hairsprayed) blue waves cascading down her back. Mal’s eyes land on Evie’s mouth painted a vibrant red. I’ve never seen anyone pull that color off, Mal thinks to herself.

“How long have you been there?”

“Just came in.”

Mal nodded, somehow both mesmerized and finding it difficult to make eye contact with Evie. “To answer your question: no, I haven’t.”

Evie raises a single eyebrow. “Should take you for a ride sometime.”

Mal’s eyes involuntarily widen, choking on the iced coffee she was holding, “You ride?”

“I suggested the theme for the shoot,” Evie replies with a nod. “Are you alright?”

“Impressive,” Mal managed to squeak out, immediately clearing her throat. She tried to avoid eye contact, knowing damn well what it would do to her, but Evie’s eyes searched hers. The small smile on Evie’s face never wavered and Mal so badly wished it was because she liked her, but she knew she’s probably just being nice to the new kid.

“Wait ‘til you meet Jay,” Evie’s voice pierced through her thoughts. The room suddenly became bustling with people; clothing racks being hauled in, makeup artists carrying in their supplies, lighting crew, everyone.

“Jay?” Mal asked, now hyper aware of how her voice sounded to her own ears. High pitched, confused, like a child on her first day of school. She knew that name but where had she heard it before?

“Yeah! He’s the other model. He looks tough but don’t be fooled. Bit like Harry in that sense,” Evie explained. Mal nodded just as Jay burst in the door behind her.

Jay had long black hair down his back, rings on several of his fingers, and wore a burgundy sweatshirt. Mal’s fight or flight instinct knocked on her senses. She saw Evie run to him and give him a hug; hating the way her throat tightened at the sight. _He’s got a pretty boy type of face, a skateboard tucked under his arm, and an entourage? Give me a break_ , Mal thought. She recognized Harry standing behind him and narrowed her gaze. Harry noticed and raised his hands in surrender. She marched up to him, sliding past a shorter guy with black and white hair.

“Is that the same Jay you dated a few years ago?” Mal whispered.

Harry pretended to be stung and rolled his eyes. “It was two months, nothing serious. Hardly an ex,” he replied.

She saw the guy standing a few feet off from her looked the same way Mal felt: praying for a sinkhole to get sucked into instead of trying to grin and bear… whatever this was. His demeanor changed entirely when Jay walked into view, chiseled, shirtless with his hair up in a bun. He laughed at a joke Evie made and a single dimple appeared on his cheek. Mal and the quiet guy let out frustrated sighs at the same time. They turned to exchange glances, a hint of recognition as they put the dots together. She noticed his face was covered in dusty freckles, like a puzzle of constellations.

“I’m Carlos,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper. She liked that he still sounded confident.

“Mal. I’m the photographer, I’m new.”

“I’ve seen your pictures though,” he confessed. “Harry’s the friend that brags about how cool the rest of his friends are.”

“He hasn’t told me about you,” she said, hoping it didn’t sound rude.

“I’ve only known him for two weeks. I’m here for all this really. Then it’s back to London for me.”

Mal’s brows shot up, “What exactly is all this?”

“Fashion Week. September issue. I’m not a model, my mom designed the clothes these two are wearing,” he explained, his brown eyes slightly narrowed.

“Do you design?” Carlos looked at her wide-eyed and opened his mouth to respond before being interrupted by Evie and Jay’s incredibly loud conversation from across the room.

“You got no business looking like that!” Jay called out. Evie twirled on the spot, her smile brighter than any of the lighting in the room.

“What about you? It’s like the leather pants were made for you,” she flirted back.

“You think asses like this are just given to people? No, I worked for it. Glad to know people are enjoying the show,” he said.

Mal gritted her teeth as she felt her throat tighten while Carlos rolled his eyes. They noticed each other’s mannerisms.

“Is this normal?” Mal asked him.

“How about we talk about this later?” Carlos whispered. “Make sure Harry isn’t around cause…”

She knew what he meant, and was grateful this newfound kindred spirit did. Mal pinched the bridge of her nose to calm back down again, “You know what? Yeah. I have… pictures to go take.” Carlos winced, but silently wished her luck.

Mal walked up to Jay and Evie, filled to the brim with confusion and jealousy but she didn’t know it yet. She did know that she felt like she was choking on a mouthful of smoke but the way Evie looked up from Jay over to her almost made the feeling disappear. Almost.

“Alright, if you two could just,” she began confidently. Their eyes on her but their hands on each other made her want to scream. “Lean on the bike.”

Jay did as she said, but what caught her off guard was Evie leaning on him, facing him, looking at him like she wanted to kiss him senseless. The way Mal had been thinking about since she’d first laid eyes on her. Mal began to snap pictures.

“Switch places,” she ordered. When Jay leaned back on the bike and Evie placed her head on his chest and looked directly at Mal, she nearly dropped her camera. She tried to make her fumble as subtle as possible and cursed inwardly.

“Could you get on the bike? I think it’s starting to feel a little pointless just standing there,” Mal said, feeling a lot like said bike. This time Jay laughed at her joke, and held his hand out to Evie as she got on it.

“You first,” he said.

“K, baby,” she flirted back.

_“Don’t you call him baby,”_ Mal whispered to herself. Resigned from her emotions, she inhaled sharply and looked down at the camera display to pretend to fidget with buttons. The blush crept up her neck and cheeks, hoping the curtain of purple hair shielded it from Evie’s view. What she hadn’t realized was that Harry had a clear view of her from where he stood, and he was terrible at hiding his grin.

“Mal, are ye hot? Should we get ye one of these huge fans pointed at ye? Afraid yer looking a wee… flushed,” Harry called out. Mal looked up, knowing that if she hadn’t been holding the camera in her hands, she would’ve run and jumped on him. I’ll get him later. Let me put a pin on it.

“No, Harry, I’m fine. Why don’t you go make yourself useful?” She called back. “Like leave,” she finished muttering to herself.

She took enough pictures to fill the entire issue with them. It had taken everything in her not to focus solely on Evie in the majority of these. _Stupid, stupid, stupid,_ she’d thought to herself as she’d watched Evie’s manicured hands grip onto Jay’s leather vest, the way his arms had circled around her waist, the way she’d viciously wished she could trade places with him. But she’d known this girl for all of twenty nine hours, not that she’d counted or anything.

Mal packed up her equipment as Harry and Carlos came up to her. Harry’s whistling felt like a cheese grater on her ears at the moment.

“So that was fun,” he said.

“Fuck off,” Mal whispered. She heard a whack behind her and Harry winced. “Thanks, Carlos.”

“I saw ye blushing.” “Don’t test me.” “But ye were! I wonder why… Was it a certain model? Let me guess: Jay,” Harry teased. “I know we wingman for each other, Mal, but going after my ex?”

“Thought you said he was hardly an ex,” she quipped. She looked over at Carlos, who had his jaw clenched. Oh… she realized.

“So it’s Evie?” the smug smile on Harry’s face made her want to punch it off, but then where would she sleep tonight?

“If I say yes, will you shut up and never bring it up here again?”

“Does that mean I can bring it up at home?” he pressed, his eyes bright.

Carlos noticed Evie approaching them slowly, and he cleared his throat once. They didn’t listen.

“Harry, I am on my last nerve. Do you want to be banned from the apartment tonight? Do you wanna go sleep on Ben’s couch?”

Carlos cleared his throat a second time and shoved both their shoulders as he did so. “What?” Mal and Harry asked, matching bewildered looks in their eyes.

“Hi…” Evie said quietly. Mal wanted to die right where she stood. There was no recovering from this. She turned slowly, so slowly she thought it would take her a full hour to face the gorgeous blue haired princess beside her.

“Hey,” Mal said, her voice going up three pitches again. She had been caught so off guard that she hadn't noticed Harry and Carlos had backed away slowly and left the room; Harry looking way more guilty than Carlos ever could. 

“Great shoot! I think?” she began, and giggled. Mal wanted her to do that again. “Can I see some?” Evie asked in a tone that almost corroded the spiked walls of Mal’s heart right now.

“Can I edit them first?” Mal shot back, more rough than Evie deserved. The model next to her blinked, placed her hands on her hips, and nodded.

“Yeah, of course. Um,” she said.

“Look, I’ll see you when I see you, alright?” Mal said curtly. She marched away from Evie, but stopped suddenly. Before she could register anything, she turned back to her. “You were good, E. I mean, Evie. I’ll…” she trailed off, waved awkwardly and ran out.

That night as she sat in front of her computer in the complete and comfortable darkness of her bedroom. With all of the pictures laid out before her onscreen, Mal let herself indulge and zoomed in on Evie. _Evie, and only Evie._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I was away for so long! But I'm back and hopefully will be updating regularly. Hope you enjoyed this one.

**Author's Note:**

> I wanna thank @bloodshotmalvie for our endless conversations, support and for making that one gif that inspired it all.


End file.
